Travel tips | Impressions

Skiing in Brian Head, Utah

Brian Head Ski Resort is located in the same mountainous area as Cedar Breaks National Monument, just minutes from it. It is 12 mi from Rt 15 and totally 27 mi North of Cedar City. The resort itself is not very attractive, but the slopes, the trails, the views, the chair lifts are fantastic! It is always smart to check the weather over there before going because even when we have warmth and sunshine in Zion, the winds in Brian Head can be unbearable and the snowstorms blinding. So we waited this year for a long time until we picked the best day, which was April 4th…pretty late in the season :-). This is how it looked:

Empty chairs, well graded slopes…and it was Friday for God’s sake…Where were the people? Is this economic crisis hitting us already or everyone is tuned to spring activities?

This is the smallest and easiest trail, by Navajo Lodge. It used to be dotted with a lot of small skiers, closely held by their instructors, or groups of snowboard beginners…The terrace used to be full with lunch eaters, hard to find an empty table. And here we are all by ourselves (we hardly caught a lonely wandering Englishman to take this picture):

For us, the consumers, it was the best! And a little surrealistic – you go down the slope – and there is no one around, you have the slope just for yourself, as if owning it for those several minutes! The sun is kissing your cheeks and the wind is cooling the well layered body, you fly down like a bird with no obstacles, just the smooth white terrain – tell me about the feeling of “present”, “the power of now”!

This is the view once you get to the top with the longest lift from Navajo Lodge. Is is always so beautiful to see that huge space with colors, especially the red rocks sticking from green forest and white slopes…The only problem – when you go up, you are excited to go down as fast as you can on those empty trails together with the wind… I checked – it takes 7-8 minutes to go up on the chairlift and some 3-4 min down – so in an hour you can make up to 5 rounds.

There are houses on the sides of the skiing slope – but I never saw anyone there. Just an investment, I guess…

And here we are color matched 🙂 on the top of our beloved mountain:

That day we skied from 1 pm till 4:30 pm, which is considered half day and it was enough ant even too much for our untrained legs. We went 15 times downhill. The next Saturday, which was April 12th, for the closing of the season they declared half price for tickets…it was certainly an incentive to skip Tai-ji and leave all spring work at home and go skiing once more. The weather couldn’t be better. And again – there were extremely few people skiing on all 3 mountains with all the 8 chair lifts operating…Good for us, but not so good for the owners of the lifts who were in my eyes – just waisting electricity and not saving nature… But what can you do – you just enjoy!

Spring in Rockville

Spring in Rockville is very beautiful. Especially this one, because we didn’t get the late frosts as usual which kill the tree blossoms. But i was a little cooler than usual, so everything started blooming later that usual. Anyway – from March to May it is a very good time to come the Zion NP and hike a lot! The temperatures almost never get to hot, they are in a comfortable range for hiking or working outside. And a spring breeze is cooling you constantly. However, there can be some rather windy parts of days. Also – there may even happen to snow once, as it was two years ago: March 15 th morning looked like this:

This year it snowed on March 16th, but it wasn’t as impressive. But have in mind – those are the only one or second times during winter season that we see snow!

So if you are more into blooms and flowers – come no earlier than the end of March. The same pear tree you just saw under snow looks like this:

And we have sunsets like that:

Closer to the summer those sunsets get less red and impressive, because the sun sets in a different location in regards to the canyon direction. But we still have beautiful views around while evenings set down:

WE have a fairy tale in Lithuania by Biliunas about “Cursed monks” who were punished and turned into stone figures because while going up and reaching for the torch of happines on the top of a mountain – they couldn’t sustain from doubts, fear and curiosity and looked back… The author definitely never visited this area, but I have never seen a mountain which would illustrate the tale better:

And here are some blooms:

Those are peach trees blooming:

The irises come out later, only by the end of May:

And please, don’t miss our sign almost all buried in flowers…

Come and see for yourselves…

The end.

Death Valley -2

We did the Artist Drive then stopped at Golden Canyon and walked up a little. Very dry, no flowers or anything, except maybe one bush. But the rocks are spectacular:

And only when we reached the Visitor’s center which is by Furnace Creek – we saw the abundance of Desert Sunflowers – the ones we were seeking…Maybe I’ll place too many pictures of them here, but I can’t help. I want to share their beauty, their ethereal nature and my big feeling of ‘Awe’ -when you think: tender lush flowers in a harsh desert environment…(but you shouldn’t think, just be present – as Eckhart Tolle advises us). This is the place where the feeling of stillness and sacredness fills the heart and there is a possibility to connect with the Great Consciousness or God…

The sun was setting, so we drove back through Furnace Creek, which is a little oasis in the valley – they have some good palm trees and look like an island of life:

And then up to Zabriskie Point. When I was young and lived in Lithuania I saw a movie by this name by Italian film director Antonioni – a very existentialist movie that was forbidden in former Soviet Union. But as the constrictions were getting looser some enthusiasts showed the movie for small audiences and I never forgot it (well, and never even for a second did I dream to see the place with my own eyes). It ends with lots of naked bodies making love on the slopes of Zabriskie Point…It is a beautiful scene, but when you see the surface and structure of those slopes in reality – as one person said – making love here would be the last thing on my mind 🙂 . You can decide for yourselves…

And the sun is setting, heading home…

I highly suggest to see Death Valley NP, but not in summer. If you can’t go during the flower season which is March, warm yourselves up in winter or late fall. But if you are going for extremes – they say it feels like in a oven in summer. And I would also suggest not to take our bad example (in and out in 5 hours) and stay there at least for a night so that you could enjoy more of it and see its morning! There are many more good pictures to be made if the sun shines from different side. Best luck!

Death Valley -1

We spent 5 hours in death Valley on March 5th this year. A little too short for a drive of 5 h one way…We left Rockville, UT at 8 a.m., in 2.5 h as usual reached Las Vegas, couldn’t resist the temptation to stop at Bellagio and have one more look at the Chinese new year flower exhibit there (were not disappointed – the abundance of orchids in daylight looked fantastic!) and then proceeded to Death Valley NP by Rt. 160 which starts on the Southern part of Las Vegas. Three years ago the southern part of Death valley was especially in bloom, so we expected something close this year. We passed Pahrump on the way and it is quite a town to sleep, eat and have some fun. On the map it looks like the town we chose for sleep that night – Indian Springs and that was a mistake. We almost missed it in the dark, it had only one motel and one restaurant and because of the lack of competition – the quality was so so. Back to Death Valley. So we reached the entrance around 1 pm and at last saw some higher elevation flowers – primroses, dandelions, poppies. Not so dense, but still there were patches and it was sensitive to walk on that desert – not to step on a tiny blooming thing.

It was a perfect place for lunch among blooms. The weather was also – perfect! We left Utah at minus! 2 C and came to Death Valley at 25-30C! With the air being so dry – it the the most comfortable temp. As I mentioned -those first patches of flowers were in the elevations above 3000′ above sea level. As we started going down and down – the road twisting and going straight, still very long way, the blooms disappeared and it was only sandy – stony desert with some enduring bushes.

It is 50 mi from the South entrance to Bad Waters, so it takes a while to get there. We reached the lowest part of Western hemisphere at 2pm. It is a very pleasant atmosphere there, some good energy spread throughout Death Valley. But that is my subjective opinion, don’t take it seriously :-). At some point in Earth’s history Death valley was a long lake. Then it dried out and here we have this long and salty valley. You can walk where you want there, people have made a path where the lowest point is, ant their path is white like snow. The mud mixed with salts is constantly changing its shapes, growing. So there are some sounds of “devils playing golf” in some parts, but we didn’t hear them this time. But to walk on that salty even path to space – what a pleasure!

It is 282′ below sea level. There are no streams which would bring the water and very little rain. So we have this dry bottom of a lake, which is nice now but so terribly hot in summer. And this is how the road goes in that bottom:

Occasionally at some point we started to notice the desert sunflowers growing in a string (why in a perfect string? why only by the road? hard to know) so close to the road that people may harm them while parking…

And only by Furnace Creek and by the visitor’s center we started seeing a lot of them – worth stopping and taking pictures. But about that – next time…

St. George Parade of Homes – El Mirador

This house was different from the rest. Though there were some similarities with Tierra Colata. It is built on a steep hillside in Stone cliff area. Built in strict clean lines looked more like a museum of modern art than a home till I entered it. But when I entered – the spaces were so light and welcoming, the colors so well matched, the materials so cozy – it was a pleasure to be there. Here it is:

If you enjoyed my story and want to see the Parade next year – you can plan your trip to St. George, Utah in the middle of February – that is when they hold the Parade. During Valentine’s Day and after it – for two weekends and a week in between. During the same trip you can visit Zion NP, Snow Canyon SP and ski in Brian Head. A lot of things to do here in winter. Nights are usually frosty or close or that, but days are usually sunny and sometimes reach 50’s, even 60’s. No snow. But if it happens to snow – then you a very lucky – you can get very beautiful pictures in Zion. Don’t get scared – snow never lies on the roads here, we enjoy some powder on the slopes of the mountains, that is it. While there are quite a few people browsing through the Parade Homes, the parks are very quiet and empty. You can have a lot of peace and solitude in this magnificent nature here!

St. George Parade of Homes -Bramasole

This time I will describe only one house, which is in Washington area of St. George. It is hard to know who is going to buy and live there, maybe some retired movie star from Southern California… or Mediterranean region… Why from those areas – to be in sync with the old olive trees that are brought and planted all around of the house. Not some young seedlings, but mature 100 years old olives from some vineyard in CA! It is never too much…So here they are:

I am investigating whether they will make it – I guess it is not an easy transfer at this stage of their lives to a rather different climate zone – yes, we have frosts and almost every night of some winters like this year.

The tower on the right is a 3 story library with the reading room on the 3rd floor. There is a balcony from the library-staircase area to check how things are going in the living room.

Here are the views from the balconies facing the yard area:

As I am not a real estate agent, that is about it about Bramasole…

One more picture only because I like flowers so much. A Flower lady was advertising her art and so she had a lot of beautiful arrangements all over the house:

St. George Parade of Homes -2

I am wondering – will I reach some point in my life that I will keep saying that St. George Parade of Homes is boring, nothing of interest there, nothing beautiful, not affordable therefore why to see them. I think I would like to think like that, then I would not loose my time in venues like that. But I still like the Parade! I don’t have any friends to go there together, all of them are not interested. So I go alone, or I take my husband, who has nothing against it (except that he is very busy) and has fun taking pictures. He can deal with such an excursion for one day, and that is good! So here are some homes and the details I liked in them:

Windows like this are very popular in those parade houses – they are made of large pieces of glass glued together with special transparent glue. I bet it holds well…

Most of the houses we visited the first day were built in the area called Ivins and around it. It is by Snow Canyon State park and a huge black lava flow comes from there. Some of the houses are built on that lava flow or at least lava pieces are used to decorate their gardens. It would be strange to live on the lava flow – it has big cavities and it is very sharp for touch. I guess – there are no earthquakes foreseen in the future in this area…

The black hands giving you a towel -what a cozy idea!

This house and its pool are built on the edge of Snow Canyon State Park! What a view! I can’t remember a better one…

The slick rock starts just where the pool ends…You don’t need to drive anywhere for hiking.

This is a very fashionable feature now, I figured. A burning tree! Almost like in Bible, except that there was a bush, not a tree…So that the owner could feel almost like Moses!

Walking in this house I wondered – how many people should make this family and be eager to live together?

There was an incentive – if you buy the house – you get this Rolls Royce free! (well, I am not sure – don’t get too excited, please)

A good idea for lighting the dinner table:

One of the rare modern interiors. I think here they caught good proportions and textures:

So much for today. There will be two more peculiar houses.

Bellagio in Las Vegas

Well, there is a Bellagio in Italy, so I had to specify. I like it. Not the hotel for I haven’t stayed there, but the greenhouse or orangerie – where they always have the most beautiful flower displays themed by the time of the year. Here is last year’s (2007) Christmas display:

The only positive outcome of my late arrival from Lithuania this year (the flight was stopped in Denver for 4 hours because of crazy reasons) was that at 5 am Utah time there is noone in Bellagio “decorated hall”. So we could fully enjoy the Chinese New year theme. Usually the crowds are very dense, it is hard to take a proper picture.

And it is Rat’s year!

This rat is grown as a topiary of some special moss. They try to make most of the decorations of natural resourses.

Those are real rocks, I have no idea where they brought them from, but they look like a small replica of those famous mountains in China. A variety of orchids are blooming from crevices.

Yosemite National Park

We went to Yosemite NP during our December California trip – not the best time of the year…it was very cold over there and parts of the road were icy. I am sure it is so much better to see Yosemite in summer when the rest of the US is in sweltering heat. But we run a B&B and we have irrigation to do, so summers are not free for travels. And not only that – when I saw how small Yosemite canyon is, how crowded the traffic may get there in season because it is advertised as almost one of the wonders of the world…no, I don’t want to go there in summer. Getting there is such a long drive…At least two hours after you leave civilization on a winding road where you have to be really careful – parts of it are icy and the big trees are so close on both sides…We drove into the park on Rt. 120. On the way, more than 2 hours before the Yosemite Village – the views were much better, with a Tulloch lake in between rolling hills:

So much of beautiful views…Then for two hours – only big trees and dull mountain slopes. And at last – we saw those so photographed peaks, but the waterfalls were “shut off “- because of shortage of water…We did two rounds in the canyon with the expectation that we are missing something, that such an advertised park should have so much more to offer, but no. We left very disappointed, sorry for ourselves to again have to drive such a long trip from it…Besides the big trees and those 2-3 well known peaks that the park has, it has nothing extraordinary, more than our Zion NP has, and it has twice of the visitors than Zion has. Zion is a longer canyon, and it has so many more beautiful picture perfect views from any part of its scenic drive. Driving to Zion is so much shorter and much more spectacular. Oh well, the power of advertisement! At least – driving back to the central valley was much better because we took Rt.140 which took us by Merced river and it was much more pleasant.

My advice: unless you have several days to spend and a reserved room or tent in Yosemite, it is not worth going there for a short one day trip. Consider Zion NP :-). Unless it is mid summer and it is really hot.

Our Central California Coast Itinerary

I will write this for those who need an idea of how long it takes to drive from L.A. to San Francisco mostly on the coastal Rt. 1 and see something interesting on the way. We started in L.A. day 1st. and visited Simi Valley during lunch time, then reached Santa Barbara, spent some time there and came to Solvang around 4 pm CA time. I remember that because at 5pm they close all the little stores in Solvang, but they keep the wine tasting places open till 6pm, so we had a chance to taste some 9 sorts of wine. The next morning we spent a couple of hours in Morro Bay, then stopped in Cambria and reached Hearst Castle around 2 pm. Each excursion there takes about 2 h. So after watching the big screen movie they show in the visitor’s center we rushed out to drive as much as we could in the daylight. The sun was setting down pretty fast, remember – it was mid December…So by the time we reached Big Sur – it was totally dark. Ant it is not advisable to come to Big Sur in the dark – hard to find a place to stay. On day 3 we spent some morning time hiking in the State Park by Big Sur, then had lunch on one of the Piers in Monterey, had no time for the Aquarium…Drove to Santa Cruz and walked a little in its Downtown, the Pier and by the time we finally found the Mystery Spot in the redwood forest by SAnta Cruz, it was getting dark. We reached the Lodge on the North side of SC in complete darkness. Good that the lodge had a sauna and a jacuzzi tub, it helped to relax after this hectic trip. On day 4 we enjoyed some morning sunny time on the rocks by the ocean on the northern part of SC and then drove towards San Francisco with short stops. We reached Golden Gate Park around lunch time and had some of our food in the beautiful settings of the park on a table by the lake. After looking around the park we reached the Chinatown area and found a parking there around 4:30 pm. So we hade some daylight still. The next morning it took us several hours to investigate the Piers and Ghirardelli Square and then the Golden Gate bridge area. After driving north and turning East towards the wine country we reached Napa Valley in twilight. On day 5 we drove a lot, in the fog at first and then in the sun until we reached Yosemite NP, spent there a couple of hours and reached Bakersfield for supper and night.